The present invention relates to a laterally drawn blind such as a curtain assembly and a folding partition, and more particularly, to a curtain which is automatically actuated by an electric motor and easily drawn by hand while the motor is not activated.
It is known that an electric curtain assembly is provided with an electromagnetic clutch between an electric motor and a cord pulley. The electromagnetic clutch joins the cord pulley with the motor when an open or close switch is pushed to rotate the motor in a manner that the cord pulley pulls a cord to open or close the curtain cloth. The electromagnetic clutch disjoins the cord pulley from the motor when a stop switch or limit switch is activated, so that the curtain is easily opened or closed by hand without receiving the frictional resistance of the motor.
However, the known curtain assembly is not largely used. One reason is that the electromagnetic clutch inconveniently requires periodic maintenance. It is not easy for most families to inspect and maintain the electromagnetic clutch in the curtain assembly. Furthermore, extra energy is consumed to energize the electromagnetic clutch while the motor runs. Another disadvantage is that the known curtain assembly is somewhat expensive due to the electromagnetic clutch.